


A Darker Fear Come to Light

by Chippani



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - cannon divergance, Angst and Tragedy, Angsty one shot here we go, Finally a tag just for me, Gen, takes place during and after be very afraid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:00:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21786376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chippani/pseuds/Chippani
Summary: Rapunzel knew she was afraid of loosing those she cared about.She never thought that she wouldn't notice her fears coming true.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Rapunzel & Lance Strongbow, Rapunzel & Varian (Disney)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 104





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm feeling angsty tonight.
> 
> That's why this is happening again.  
> And yes, I know I'm evil.

_Fear_.

How was Rapunzel supposed to protect her kingdom from fear itself? The rocks were one thing, she could deal with rocks. But these new rocks...

She stared hesitantly at the very red new additions to the castle as Eugene started checking that the citizens were alright. A cautious hand reached out and touched the smooth surface. It was bone chillingly cold but there was also something familiar. _A feeling._

" _Cassandra?_ " Her voice came like a whisper on the winds as she drew her hand back.

* * *

The visions came slowly at first. The first one she saw being Eugene bleeding on the ground, the wound from when Gothel stabbed him reopened like it had never been healed.

_But that would never happen. Right?_

Then it was Cassandra taking over her kingdom and leaving her forever. That one felt too real. It hurt.

Then Varian showed her Ruddiger. The sweet raccoon literally frozen with fear. She knew something had to be done.

She tried painting a sign, but there was doubt settled deep in the pit of her stomach. Of course, she had caused the next vision of hers unintentionally.

_Pascal was laying on the ground, unmoving. Unresponsive. He was dead, and she couldn't do anything to help him._

Pascal tugged at her hair, squeaking softly and everything was okay again. "Uh, guys? I think I have an idea." Varian called.

_What other option did they have?_

* * *

She was having trouble remembering the way to the chamber containing the Demanitus device. Varian wasn't making it any easier by repeatedly saying "no problem, we got this."

Another thing that didn't help? The visions. _Her mother becoming frozen then shattering, her father leaving in his grief. Lance with an angry spike impailing his chest, blood pooling on the earth beneath him-_ How was she supposed to remember with all that happening?

She wasn't sure what happened next. The ground shook and began to open up beneath them. Her feet slipped from under her and she quickly threw part of her hair to a support beam to pull herself up.

"My supplies!"

She whirled around to look at Varian as he started slipping into the pit. Her hair was quickly tossed towards him. _But it was too late. She watched him fall deep into the pit, caling for her-_

Varian let out a panicked gasp as he tugged on her hair, coaxing her to pull him up. Relief spread through her chest as his feet touched the ground. The same amount of relief filled his voice as he thanked her.

"Are you okay?" She asked, stepping closer as he slipped his bag off his back.

"I'm fine," he breathed, "oh, but we've only got one vial of my solution left."

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to make it count." He barely listened as he started walking again with an oddly fearful expression on his face.

* * *

She was starting to recognize the place they were. They were getting close. She'd hoped that news would ease the tension in the air, but it only seemed to make it worse.

Rapunzel paused to look back at him. He was staring at the vial with a sad ( ~~guilty?~~ ) expression. She felt the need to comfort him.

"Varian, whatever the red rocks are showing you, they're just visions. They're not real."

His face twisted darkly. "But they _are_." Her heart started pounding in her ears. The look on his face reminded her of _that day._

 _"If I can't have a happy ending, then neither will you!"_ the words echoed in her head for a moment.

"Do you know what this is?"

Her shoulders tensed. "It's what's gonna sever the red rocks power-"

"Yes, but it's also the same compound that encased my father." She gasped softly as he continued, "you know, the red rocks make everybody else see hallucinations, but what I see..." He glared at his reflection. Rapunzel absently thought he looked near tears. "...is something that really happened.

"This stuff ruined my life." He growled and turned away. "Because of _this_ I did- I did terrible thi-"

The vial slipped from his grasp and she quickly moved to catch it, _but it hit the ground and shattered. Cassandra sneered at her from the shadows before turning and walking away-_

Pascal gave a relieved squeak. There was a storm of emotions in Varian's eyes as he took it back. He started a panicked ramble about how the kindom would have reacted if it had smashed. She thought it best not to bring up her vision from moments before.

* * *

She felt so relieved when they found the Demanitus Chamber. Even Varian seemed to relax upon seeing it, even getting a little giddy.

It made it easier to ignore the visions, and that was what she needed more than anything. They moved quickly, Varian almost talking through his thought process, but she urged him to focus. The chamber was starting to crumble in places _and she could already see rocks tumbling down to crush them_ -

Luckily, Varian moved quickly. That seemed to be when their luck ran out. The solution would only work on the black rocks, and the only one they could see was closer to the top. Varian was reluctant to climb up to it, but she refused to let a little thing like heights stop her. She had a kingdom to save ~~again~~. _Then she heard him calling._

She didn't really want to see, but curiosity got the better of her. Besides, _Eugene's voice was hard to ignore._

 _Blood stained his shirt and ran down his neck. There were so many deep gashes in his cheeks that his face more closely resembled a piece of meat at a butcher's shop. He probably would have been crying too if not for the crimson liquid pouring from his empty eye-sockets._ It took every bit of her strength to look away.

Varian cried out as the handhold he'd grabbed crumbled between his fingers. "Varian!" She cried as she leapt after him. Her hair looped around part of the old device's structure and she prayed he grabbed hold of the other end.

 _Yet he kept falling farther and farther, eyes filled almost completely with fear-_ Her descent slowed as she became level with the alchemist. He was clinging to her hair for dear life, shaking like a leaf in a strong wind, just as afraid as he had been in the hallucination. "I- It's no use Rapunzel, I- I can't do this!"

She noticed the tears threatening to spill from his eyes and felt like she'd gotten punched in the gut. _He's just a boy._ "Varian, you cannot let fear run your life." She took a deep breath. "Look, I'm afraid too-"

"Yeah, you said that, princess- but you don't see what I see." He glanced down at whatever the rocks were forcing him to see.

"That's true. But that doesn't mean I don't see... _other_ things...." She began, slowly explaining her visions relating to Cass and the kingdom. She wasn't ready to delve into the other things, and it probably wouldn't have helped. Not like what she did tell him. It clearly worked too, because he'd relaxed enough to smile before asking for a boost.

She didn't have time to watch him continue his ascent. The rocks were growing closer and she was loosing her ground.

Then she _felt_ her. _Cassandra._ And she was just as afraid as they were.

Once again, Varian cried out and she risked a peek. He'd slipped and almost lost the vial, holding it in one hand as the other held onto a ledge for dear life. His feet dangled uselessly beneath him. He kept glancing between the rock and the vial. Then everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

He threw the vial at the rock. His fingers slipped off the edge. The glass shattered against the rock. Then there was an explosion of yellow as the amber expanded over the red rocks faster than she could shout "Pascal". And just like that, it was over. A laughed bubbled it's way out of her and she cheered.

But Varian didn't.

It took her a moment to even realize he'd been so quiet. Her eyes dancing around until she spotted him. In an instant it was like all her warmth had been sapped into the ground. Her feet refused to move, not that she knew what to do with them if they would.

Varian was laying terrifyingly still on the ground, blood still trickling from the side of his mouth as his eyes stared vacantly up at the amber. And when she finally did find the ability to move closer and see him better, she saw how broken his body looked. Then she broke too.

* * *

Her journey back out was a blurr. The moment Eugene had seen the vacant look in her eyes, he'd run over and hugged her. Lance had hesitated as she began sobbing again, and Ruddiger? Well...

He was frozen again. He knew. He could probably smell it on her. His little body trembled as he stared at her with large, sad eyes before he let out a low, somber trill.

Varian had saved Corona, and he couldn't even celebrate that.


	2. Surprise bonus chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You really thought I could just leave this without some Quirangst?  
> Fool.

"You know, princess, you don't have to do this." Lance said as he looked up from stroking Ruddiger's fur. The raccoon seemed to have lost all his strength in the time it took them to reach Old Corona.

"No. I do." Rapunzel's voice cracked. Eugene took her hand and gently lead her up the steps.

The old wood door swung open when they got halfway up. Quiring stood in the doorway, a smile fading from his features. He glanced from the couple to Lance. To Ruddiger. "No." He breathed as he stood straighter. That seemed to do it for Rapunzel.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed. Her legs started to give out and Eugene caught her. Ruddiger glanced at Quirin before he dropped his head back onto Lance. Quirin stared at them all for a long time before he started to cry himself. It wasn't like the loud sobs of Rapunzel. It was silent with vacant eyes.

"I... Need to make arrangements." He said with a broken voice.

It was worse when they let him see Varian. For a while he'd just stared at his small, broken body. Then he'd oh so gently pulled him into his arms and held him. He'd stroked his hair and cried. Edmund had happened upon the scene and had taken to silently sitting next to his old friend.

The funeral was an even more somber affair. Many of the citizens had decided to attend, simply because he'd died saving them. It angered Rapunzel, but she was too numb to do anything about it.

Quirin had thrown some kind of chemical into the pyre to change the color of the flames. He didn't have to explain it. Varian had probably told him about it at some point. Rapunzel let him take control of the whole thing.

* * *

Lance gently tapped her shoulder, bringing her out of her painting. She'd been working on it for hours with no luck. She just couldn't get Varian's hair right. "Hmm?"

"Uh... Varian's old man wanted to...ah..." He mumbled uncertainly.

She nodded and let him lead her off to see the man. He stood waiting for her, Ruddiger drapped across the back of his neck. She hesitated. "What can I do for you?"

"I... I want to see where it happened. If- if it's not too much to ask, your highness."

"Of course."

That was how she found herself back in the Demanitus chamber. Quirin was not nearly as impressed as Varian had been. It hurt a little.

There was something different though.

Ruddiger hopped down and ran over to the blue specter without hesitation while the humans he was with had frozen. "Oh! Ruddiger! What are you doing..."

He turned to look at them and Rapunzel nearly broke again. She wasn't the one he was looking at though. "Dad."

"Son."

Then he floated closer. "Dad! I- I'm so- so sorry! I never got to tell you everything I did, or say goodbye and-"

"It's okay son."

"What?" He stopped, blinking. "You don't have to tell me anything. It's all in the past now." Quirin said sadly. "All I ask is that you say hello to your mother for me."

Varian started to protest, but nodded instead and glanced at Rapunzel for a moment. "Alrigh... Take care of Ruddiger for me. And..." He paused, probably not entirely sure what else to say. "Bye.."

Then he was gone.

It took Rapunzel two weeks to finish the painting. Quirin hung it with the family portrait they'd gotten so many years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Variangst may fuel me, but Quirangst is p good too.

**Author's Note:**

> Believe it or not, the more I like a character the more I must make them suf f e r
> 
> Now give me your tears.


End file.
